Stop Animal Testing

    Everyday it's estimated that nearly 50 to 100 million animals worldwide from fruit flies and mice to non-human primates are used for animal testing. Most animals are used annually and are either killed during the experiment(s) or subsequently euthanised. To study about severe burns on live tissue, a pet is burned alive with a flame-thrower until the charred flesh can be removed in large pieces from while the animal is still alive.
 Head trauma studies require a pets head to be strapped down and receive high impact blows to the head resulting in severe brain damage. To study recovery from injury, a pet is strapped down, and the pet's knees are cut to leave large flaps. The list goes on and on. Even though animals may save lives, the most results of animal testing are incorrect and lead to more deaths than cures. All animals have the right to be treated as equally important as humans are. Animal testing should be stopped once and for all.

Many tests that involve using animals are often misleading. In fact, drugs that have/pass animal tests end up harming or killing humans about 61% of the time. That is because most of the tests done on the animals end up having different results when used by humans. There're several ways in which humans and animals differ. Rodents deposit plaque (fatty acids) in the liver, while humans deposit plaque in the blood vessels. Rats have no gallbladder, yet humans do. Cats lack an enzyme that makes it impossible for them to metabolize ibuprofen. The circulation system of dogs is different because they walk on four legs, while humans walk on two. While human lives are in stake, from fatal results, so are the animals that were tested. The process of these tests leave millions of animals mutilated, burned, poisoned, and gassed in immoral and unnecessary tests. Although, animal testing has benefited humans in the form of beneficial drugs and other treatments, the negative effects outweigh the benefits.

The utmost reason why companies test on animals is to prevent product liability suits and human safety. (Even though results vary between humans and animals.) Manufacturers of cosmetic and household products claim that they perform tests on animals to ensure the safety of their products, but in reality it is to limit the company's liability to its customers in case of a lawsuit. There is NO LAW that requires the test of animals on household and personal care products. The "Lethal Dose" test measures the amount of a product it takes to kill part of a group of animals forced to eat it. These tests are also not required by law, yet companies still perform them. 

Animal tests are inaccurate, a waste of time, and produce dangerous results while promising-new-techniques are ignored. Alternatives to the use of animals in toxicity testing include replacing animal tests with non-animal methods, as well as modifying animal-based tests to reduce the number of animals used, and to minimize pain and distress. Non-animal tests are generally faster and less expensive than the animal tests they replace and improve upon. In the American public it cost about $136 billion annually for animal testing. That means that those tests are costing your family about $300 a year. Since 1901, 2/3 of all Noble Prizes in medicine have been awarded to scientists that used alternative technologies, not animal experiments in their research.

Even though animal testing has lead to convenient results for human medicine, it has also harmed more than cured. The tests are poor scientific practice and the costs almost always outweigh the benefits. Most results are inaccurate and fatal to human health. Animals have an intrinsic right not to be used for experimentation. Animal testing should be made illegal for the sake of humans and animal lives.